


Sins of Omission

by Cat_Moon



Series: Half Breed: Season Two [18]
Category: Moonlight (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2018-02-23 15:47:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2553032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat_Moon/pseuds/Cat_Moon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mick is getting his faith back, Sarah’s ghost is still haunting Josef, and a disturbing trend among L.A. vamps provides a case for our vampire P.I.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sins of Omission

  
   
 _“Today I’d like to talk to you about the Sin of Omission. According to the Bible, it’s the failure to do what one should have done. Paul refers to this sin directly when he states in Romans 7:19, “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the bad things I do not want to do.”_  
  
 _In our struggle not commit any sins of omission against God; we sometimes forget that we must also apply those rules to everyone. I refer you to Matthew 25:40: “I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”_  
  
 _Determining the right thing to do can seem very difficult, if we forget to listen to that still soft voice inside of us. There’s an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other and they’re duking it out, arguing so loudly sometimes you can’t hear that voice. Selfishness, fear, even logic, none of these will help you. I say you **know** what you need to do. If you ignore that, you are doing it willingly. I’ll give you an example from my own life. When an anonymous benefactor offered to donate the entire amount to build this church, I was torn. The devil, my selfishness and greed, wanted a beautiful **real** church instead of that run down storefront we were in. The angel insisted that I should be humble. We don’t need a fancy building to worship in, God is within us. Do you think you know which one I needed to listen to? Neither of them! While they were fighting over my head, that still small voice whispered to me, “This is what you need to do.” Build the church._  
  
 _The next time you’re torn between two decisions, let that voice through. Obey it. That’s God’s voice, folks. He’s giving you the answer you need. The question is, will you listen?_  
  
 _I’d like to close this sermon tonight by reciting the passage from I Kings 19: 11-12:"_  
  
 _“And He said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind and earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:_ _And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”_  


XXX

  
Every time I sit here in the pew listening to one of Robert’s sermons, I marvel at the changes in my undead life this past year. For so long I thought God had turned His back on me. I really believed all the folklore I’d been exposed to as a child. Vampires as the soulless damned. I just knew what Father Mears, the priest from the church my parents took me to every Sunday, would have to say about us. I lived that model of eternal damnation for a long time. Until I finally figured out it was me who turned my back on Him. So here I am, every Sunday night, reminding myself not to shut that door again.  
  
I was so hung up on the fact that this undeath had been forced on me against my will…yet now I find myself wondering if it’s right to choose it, to forgo the option of heaven. Robert believes a wife’s place is with her husband, but I don’t know… I hope Beth is listening to this sermon, because I think Josef is right, it can’t be because of me alone. Thinking about Josef in church… I hope I don’t get struck by lightning! I have a feeling it was just because he didn’t want to be involved in a wedding at a rundown church building that he agreed to donate the money for this one. I haven’t given up though; I may just drag him to church yet…  


XXX

Don’t fall asleep, Beth – don’t fall asleep! It’s not that the sermon is boring, it’s very nice. Did I remember to take the laundry out of the dryer? I totally support Mick, I think it’s great that he’s found religion again… it’s not as if I’m not religious, I believe in God. Maybe I can get Mo to let me ditch the anorexic model story, if I can just come up with a juicy murder to cover… That’s it; I’m going to hell, aren’t I? Oh, wait, no I’m not, I won’t be going to either place, will I? Okay, that wasn’t a good thing to think about just now. Thank God I’m not that religious… It’s a good thing I’m going to be immortal, or I’d be in so much trouble right now. You’re babbling, Beth. Shut up and pay attention.  
  
XXX  
  
After services the congregation milled about the church, talking amongst themselves and stopping to say a few words to Reverend Autun before leaving. When Mick and Beth did their goodbyes, Autun took Mick aside and asked to speak to him privately after everyone left.  
  
When the church was empty, Robert ushered the couple into his office. As they took their seats he was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts.  
  
“There’s a…situation I’ve come across that I feel I need to make someone aware of.”  
  
“A vampire situation,” Mick guessed.  
  
Autun nodded. “Lately there have been vampires coming to me for help with drug addiction.”  
  
“Vamps can get temporarily high from the blood of someone who has drugs in their system,” Mick explained. “Generally, it’s not on par with human addiction, vamp addicts are rare. It’s blood we’re addicted to,” he admitted wryly.  
  
“Food can be an addiction for any of us,” Robert responded, in that way he had of putting vampirism into perspective. “And I know about that, I’m talking about being addicted to a drug, not drugged blood.”  
  
“That’s impossible,” Mick returned automatically, although he couldn’t help thinking of the moonshine that Randy made. If an alcoholic beverage could be made, was it possible a drug could too?  
  
“I’m bound to confidentiality so I can’t give you the names of the addicts, but from what I’m hearing there is a dealer in the city who’s pushing a drug for vampires.”  
  
“That can’t be good, can it?” Beth put in. “Drugs can lower inhibitions; I would think that could be dangerous in a vampire.”  
  
“What kind of drug is it?” Mick asked. “Does it cause euphoria, hallucinations, what?”  
  
“From what I gather, it’s a general intoxication, with some loss of memory afterward.”  
  
“So they could be doing anything while high,” Mick said, thinking about the possible consequences. Any potential threat to the security of the vampire community was taken seriously by everyone.  
  
“I’m not hiring you in an official capacity, I can’t pay you. I just thought you should know about it.”  
  
“I’m going to look into it,” Mick promised.  
  
“Can you tell us anything else that might help the investigation?” Beth asked, earning a raised eyebrow from Mick at ‘us’.  
  
Robert shook his head. “I’m afraid not,” he answered regretfully. “They won’t reveal their source to me; I think they may be afraid to. It’s just started though; I don’t think it’s been going on long.”  
  
“Well, that’s one good thing,” Mick said. “Thanks for telling me.”  
  
XXX  
  
In the quiet of his office after Mick and Beth had left, Robert sat at his desk working on next week’s sermon. He liked getting started on the next one right away, while he was still feeling the fire and inspiration from the night’s service. He liked each one to build upon the one before. He’d just gotten started when he was interrupted by a knock on the door.  
  
“Come,” he said, looking up to see who his visitor was. “Well, if it isn’t our anonymous benefactor,” he exclaimed with a smile. “I’m surprised to see you here.”  
  
“Me too,” the visitor admitted, shifting from foot to foot as if nervous. “I heard your sermon. It was good.”  
  
“Should I be expecting hell to freeze over?” Robert had always suspected that it was mainly Mick’s entreaty that convinced Josef Kostan to donate the money. He didn’t seem to be the religious type, but perhaps that was presumptuous of him to assume.  
  
“Nah, neither side wants me, that’s why I’m undead. Wouldn’t get into heaven, and they know I’d take over down _there_ ,” he said, sounding serious.  
  
“What can I do for you?” Robert sat back in his chair expectantly.  
  
Josef finally moved completely inside the office, taking a seat in one of the visitor chairs. “I’d like you to perform a memorial service.”  
  
“I can do that. Who is it for?”  
  
“My wife.”  
  
“You have my condolences.”  
  
Josef waved the sentiment off. “There are a few things you should know first. I killed her.”  
  
“I see,” Autun answered non-judgmentally, waiting for further explanation.  
  
Josef continued, his words devoid of emotion. “We were married in April of 1955. She wanted to be with me _forever_.” Emphasis on the last word giving no doubt to his meaning. “On our wedding night I tried to turn her into what I am. It didn’t work, and for the last five decades she was in a coma.”  
  
“You ‘pulled the plug’?” Robert guessed.  
  
“In a manner of speaking.”  
  
“That must have been a very difficult decision for you to make,” the minister responded compassionately.  
  
“I don’t usually do anything without some benefit to me,” Josef told him frankly. “Donating to this church was a tax deduction, one that’s coming in handy with the way hedge funds have been going lately. But I think I…might have heard that voice you were talking about,” he admitted, sounding surprised. “I spent a long time trying to decide what to do. If an attempt to revive her had worked, it would be a complication I didn’t want in my life at this point,” he said with further honesty. “And there was the other side, the one that said I needed to try to bring her out of it. In the end…I couldn’t do it. It was like there was something inside me that had nothing to do with what I wanted or what I thought I should do, stopping me. I feel like I gave her peace.”  
  
“That would be the still, small voice, my friend,” Robert told him. “A religious man might say you released her soul to heaven.”  
  
“I’m not a religious man, but thanks for the sentiment,” Josef responded brusquely.  
  
“If you’re not a religious man why are you here?” Robert countered.  
  
“For Sarah.”  
  
  
End of Part One: Fallen Angel


End file.
